A Loaded Smile
by CreativeKarma
Summary: On the streets a killer has emerged. One who captures, kills, mutilates, then dumps their homeless victims back into the alleyways. The BAU is two years behind a case that has all ready claimed seven victims with no leads. The team must work quickly. Into this void comes an unexpected friend from Spencer Reid's past who has a unique angle to help them solve these murders.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Little Rock, Arkansas

It's a typical Friday night on the streets of downtown Little Rock. The sidewalks are packed with laughing couples and groups. The bars and restaurants are full to capacity with a line out the door. The lights and sights keep the wandering eye busy and away from the alleyways that look darker beyond the harsh lights.

A big group comes walking out of a local restaurant only a block over from the waterfront. A few men carry the air of a bodyguard like a shield looking ever vigilant in their duties.

The crowd outside the restaurant was not merely those waiting to be let inside, although some of them were. Some of the crowd began to cheer and shout as the group poured out onto the sidewalk.

For a moment the bodyguards parted and spread out to block the onslaught, revealing whom they were protecting. It was the young and wildly famous recording artist Adam Lambert and Sauli Koskinen out for a night on the town together.

Adam was leading the way. His normally black hair had been dyed blonde and cut short on the sides and long on the top. Enough hair to artfully sculpt into a fashionable and thick mowhawk-esque hair. Although, his black brows remained dark as they arched over his pale blue eyes. He adjusted the black leather jacket over his torso under which he wore a pale grey t-shirt with a medium grey graphic design. The shirt and jacket fell loosely over his waist only giving glimpses of the black belt that was looped though a pair of medium grey jeans. His black boots were covered down to his ankles by his grey jeans.

His boyfriend Sauli was following right behind him laughing about something Adam had said. Sauli had dirty blonde hair that was styled very much like Adam's now was save for the fact it was shorter on top. His light blue eyes shined in the flashing lights of the nearby cameras. He too was wearing a black leather jacket under which he wore a plain black t-shirt. The jeans he wore were so faded they appeared to be white to those around them and were tucked into a pair of loosely tied, black army boots.

The crush of the crowd and the flashing lights of the cameras drew many eyes in their direction as they waited at the curb for their black SUV to be pulled up to the building. They talked and acted as if they were the only ones on the sidewalk and it was any other normal night.

However, the bodyguards were beginning to have a harder time holding the crowd back as the limo pulled up to the curb. It was as if the crowd was fighting to be noticed just once before they pulled away. For some, it might be their only chance to see them out in public here. The paparazzi furiously snapped photos of everything.

Adam pulled out his wallet to give a tip to the staff outside despite the fact he had not used the valet service.

It was at that moment, the crush overwhelmed even the bodyguard's determined efforts. A man in ragged clothing shot out of the mass of people snagging the wallet before making a run for it. The man's clothes were dirty from who knows what. It was hard to determine under the lights hanging over the sidewalk that his shirt was once a forest green t-shirt that hung large over his malnourished frame. His baggy grey sweat pants only hung on by the saving grace of an elastic waist. But his black tennis shoes looked like they would fall apart at any moment on the chase.

One of the bodyguards started to give chase while the other fought to maintain control of the crowd.

A figure emerged, from an alleyway only yards from the commotion. The figure's face appeared to be a young woman from the long yet dirty brunette hair. A pair of black, rectangular glasses framed her hazel eyes. Yet, the clothing was baggy and used enough to hide the rest of her form. The shirt was a tank black tank top while the bottoms appeared to be much handed down jeans with rips in the knees. Her white tennis shoes, however, looked much newer than the man running down the sidewalk. She too appeared to be homeless.

However, instead of staying out of the way of the coming commotion, she ran faster than seemed possible and tackled the homeless man to the ground. Despite the man's height and build, the managed to simply keep him from getting up rather than trying to wrestle the wallet from him.

Soon, the bodyguard that had given chase arrived and took hold of the man allowing the young woman to rise from her place. She brushed her hair away from her face but stayed kneeling. Her voice came sounding rather reasonable.

"Don't hurt him. He's just hungry," she begged the bodyguard.

"Thanks for stopping him but now this guy is mine. It's up to the owner of the wallet if he doesn't want to press charges," the bodyguard replied.

The young woman was about to say more when she heard noise rushing their direction.

Now, the paparazzi had a new target as they snapped pictures of the trio.

She was not used to the glare and brought up her hands to try and block some of the light. The glass flashed in the light of the camera flashes. Her ears were being assaulted with questions as they all drew in close.

The bodyguard was now torn between getting possession of the wallet, holding onto the would-be thief and the onslaught of the media.

More footsteps were heard that turned some of the attention away from the trio knelt down on the ground. Adam and Sauli had come to see what had happened making the photographers go wild with their cameras.

Adam looked to the bodyguard holding onto the man on the ground.

"What happened?" he asked.

"This is the guy that stole your wallet. While I was chasing him, this girl came out of nowhere and tackled him. She stopped him and held him down till I caught up," the bodyguard made motions to the young woman and the guy in all the right places.

This had the frenzy started once again by the paparazzi, leaving the girl slowly rising to her feet feeling unsteady and uncomfortable with all the scrutiny.

The bodyguard yanked the wallet out of the man's hand and handed it over to Adam who took it slowly as he took in the young homeless woman that had apparently helped out.

He was about to speak as the young woman's soft but intelligent tone started up.

"Please sir, Gary here…he was just hungry. He's only been on the streets a few weeks and hasn't been able to adjust yet. He just needs some help," the young woman said.

Adam listened quietly to the young woman before looking to Sauli for a moment. After a bit of unspoken communication, he looked back to the young woman.

"What's your name?" Adam asked.

She looked around at the photographers for a moment with a concerned expression before looking back to Adam.

"Catherine…." She hesitated a moment as if she was going to give a last name but then she stopped herself and left it at that.

Adam nodded and looked to the bodyguard.

"Let him up."

The bodyguard looked confused but got off the man slowly who quickly moved away from the bodyguard and Catherine before getting up. He looked scared and confused.

Adam slowly stepped towards him as he spoke.

"It's all right. I'm not going to press charges. Here…" Adam opened his wallet and handed Gary ten dollars.

Gary looked to the money then back to Adam. He quickly took the money and hurried off pushing his way through the crowd to get away.

Adam watched him leave and then looked back to Catherine. He reached back into his wallet and pulled out a twenty dollar bill and held it out to her.

Catherine shook her head and said, "I can't take that. Anyone would've done the same thing. I'd rather work for the money I receive."

A smile crossed his lips and he still held the money out to her as he walked closer.

"Think of it as a reward if you had found a wallet and turned it into the police. You have worked for it and not everyone would have helped. Let alone someone who is in the same situation."

Catherine looked over his face for a moment before slowly taking the money.

'Thanks…"

Adam smiled fully now.

"You're welcome. You take care of yourself, the best you can."

She softly smiled as she responded, "I'll try."

As Adam and Sauli walked away from Catherine taking the majority of the paparazzi with them, none of them seemed aware of a figure watching all of this from across the street.

Early the next morning, a garbage crew was making their rounds through the streets gathering up garbage bags and tossing them into the truck. The pair were wearing regular street clothes but had added heavy duty boots, an orange vest with reflecting patches sewn on.

"I tell you something man. One of these days, I'm gonna hook a better job than trash duty," one man said as he tossed bags over to his partner.

"Oh really? With all that experience of yours what job you think you're gonna get?" his co-worker chuckled.

Not hearing a response, he looked over to the frozen form of his co-worker.

"Dude, you all right? What's the hold up?"

"We're gonna need the police here. Call it in over the radio."

The co-worker hopped off the back of the truck and came over.

"What is it now…?" He stopped in mid-sentence as he stood next to his buddy and looked down upon the bloody and mutilated corpse of Gary.

In Quantico, the Behavioral Analysis Unit was looking up at the screen showing a photo of Gary's body.

"This is Gary Sanders. Age 32. He was found dead in an alley way in Little Rock, Arkansas just yesterday," Penelope Garcia said as she looked to the others. Her fiery red hair was pulled back from her somewhat pale face with colorful hair clips. She had added colorful makeup to add brightness to her skin tone. Her bright green glasses framed her deep blue eyes. Her clothing was just as colorful with frills around the collar. She wore red heels on her feet. The pen she was motioning with was bright pink with a fuzzy ball on the top.

"Who found the body?" asked Derek Morgan. He was bald but his eye brows were thick and black where they arched over his dark brown eyes. His skin tone was the darkness of the African-American ethnicity. She wore a simple dark grey t-shirt that was tucked into black slacks with a black belt. Black dressy boots completed the look.

"That would be Eric Hutchinson and his co-worker Steve Calloway. They were loading the garbage truck early yesterday morning and discovered his body," Garcia replied.

"What brings this under our jurisdiction?" David Rossi asked as he looked to Garcia with his brown eyes. Rossi was an older Caucasian man with black hair cut in a very short style that left a little volume on the top. He was slowly graying throughout and his sideburns faded from black to grey as the hair moved away from the top of his head.

Rossi wore a little more business causal look of a black suit jacket buttoned over a white collared shirt that had the top buttoned undone. His black slacks were an exact match to his jacket and his black dress shoes were shined.

Jennifer Jareau sat forward and opened up her file. "The chief of police called me on this one. No only is this not the first murder of a homeless person within the city limits over the past couple of years but it is supposedly linked to the other because of the removal of a body part." J.J. was the liaison for the BAU. Her long blonde hair was only half pulled back into a black hair clip leaving the rest to hang loose down her back. Her light blue eyes looked over the team that stood out against her smooth Caucasian complexion. She dressed like the proverbial secretary with dark grey suit jacket, white blouse, matching grey pencil skirt and black heels.

"Correct, more specifically his hands," Garcia added moving to the next picture on the screen of Gary Sanders arms sans hands.

"Why take his hands?" Morgan asked aloud.

"Could be a trophy. Something to remember and relive the thrill by," Spencer Reid offered as a possible solution. Spencer looked more the part of a student rather than an FBI agent. A dark brown sweater vest was pulled over a white button-down shirt that held a soft blue pinstripe pattern. A brown tie was cinched around his neck but tucked down into his vest. The vest fell over the brown dress pants he wore. His brown eyes looked over the team.

"You said that this fit the other vics because of the removal of a body part?" Rossi said with a questioning tilt to his voice.

"According to the past records of these murders, each victim had some body part removed. Only one other time it was their hands, before that the eyes, and before that the tongue," Garcia answered.

"How many other murders fitting this description have there been?" Aaron Hotchner asked with his dark brown eyes focused on the pictures on the screen. He was the leader of the BAU section of the FBI. His black suit was pressed and the collar of his white button down shirt was starched. It was buttoned all the way up and a black tie had been added. His black suit pants and black dress shoes gave the most typical image of an FBI agent. His dark brown hair was cut short and well maintained.

"According to the chief of police, this makes seven within the past two years."

"The chief wants whoever this is caught now before another dead body shows up," J.J. added.

"Considering the lack of timeline we need to assume that at any moment another murder might be committed. Either in the next 24 hours or a few days from now. If we want to get ahead of this killer we will have to get there as soon as possible. Pack up everyone, we leave in twenty." Hotchner said as he rose from his chair.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"The price of seeking to force our beliefs on others is that someday they might force their beliefs on us."

~Mario Cuomo

The team was settled into their private jet heading off for Little Rock, Arkansas. They all gathered around to go over the files to get a sense for their unsub.

"It appears that each one of the victims was a homeless person with no family or friends to speak of. Makes them easy targets," Rossi said.

"But why homeless people? What's the motive for choosing them?" asked J.J.

"Actually this is not all together uncommon. Olga Rutterschmidt and Helen Golay, also known as the "Black Widows" were convicted of killing two homeless men. They would invest thousands of dollars in insurance polices for the men, put them up in apartments to only later drug them and run them over with their car. It was presumed they wanted to make it look like a hit and run," Dr. Reid pointed out.

"Well these seven victims didn't have any holdings. No insurance polices. Nothing under their names at all. So it couldn't have been about money," said Morgan as he countered the idea.

"And the taking of the body parts. Trophies? Or for some other reason?" Hotch wondered aloud.

"Jeffery Dahmer was known for dismemberment and cannibalism in each of his seventeen murders of men and boys," Reid offered.

"Yet, it's not the same body part being taken in each case. If it was a case of cannibalism, then why not more dismemberment? What is the significance of taking those pieces of these victims?" Rossi asked.

A call came through on the laptop set out on the table for all of them to see. Agent Hotcher reached out and tapped a key to answer.

"What do you have Garcia?" he asked.

"I've looked into the area the bodies were found and discovered that they were all dumped within a 10 mile radius. In this area are various homeless shelters, churches, and soup kitchens," Garcia said.

"A place with a high homeless presence. A place where the bodies would be found quickly. Is this a message to the people helping the homeless or to the homeless people themselves?" Morgan asked as he looked between the members of the team.

"What about witnesses or people that might have seen them last?" Hotcher asked Garcia.

"There's nothing on that end. The police have talked to the homeless in the area and they were either afraid of the police or didn't know who these people were," Garcia replied.

"Thanks Garcia. Keep looking for a link between the victims," Hotch ordered.

"When I know something, you'll know," she said before hanging up.

"So we have to figure out why these homeless people are being targeted. Is it something about these specific people or is it about all homeless people?" Hotch asked aloud as he closed the files in his lap.

"Must soup kitchens and homeless shelters are run by some religious group. Maybe this is a religious sort of attack," J.J. offered.

"That's true. In Arabic speaking countries, it was a common practice to cut the hands off someone who was caught stealing. In Exodus, there is a quote saying: "then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eyes, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise," Reid quoted as he looked among his colleges.

"So maybe this unsub is either a religious leader, was excommunicated, or is using the Bible as a way to pay forward onto his or her victims for the abuse they received in the past," Morgan offered as a valid reason for the murders.

"If that's the case and this attack has only been on the homeless then the unsub has a large population of people to exact their revenge or judgment upon. J.J., I want you and Reid to meet with the chief of police and see if they have a place set up with the information we need and find out if there have been any more suspicious murders of homeless people in the area. Rossi, you and I will head to the latest crime scene to see what sort of area these victims are being dumped I, and Morgan you head over to interview that singer and see what information he can give about the person that stole his wallet. He may have been the last one to see the victim alive." Hotch said with an air of authority.

Reid and J.J. headed into the police station as they were given looks by the other police officers. It was hard to hide that they weren't part of their unit but something else all together.

A gentleman who was leaning over a desk looked up at their entrance and came over to them looking grim.

"You the FBI?" he asked.

J.J. gave a smile and held out her hand to shake his. "I'm your liaison Jennifer Jareau and this is Doctor Reid. It's nice to meet you Chief Parker."

Reid nodded to the Chief.

"Well, it's good to have you guys here. I hope you guys can get a handle on this situation before it gets out of control," he said, "I set up our conference room for your use while you're here." Parker motioned off to a room he began to lead them too.

"Thank you very much Chief," J.J. said as they walked to the room. "You informed me that this was the seventh murder like this?"

He opened the door and let him pass by them as he answered. "Yes ma'am."

"Have there been any other suspicious murders or disappearances of the homeless in this area?"

"There's always homeless disappearing off these streets everyday. I don't see what one missing homeless person matters here."

"Actually, Chief, this is the end result of this unsub's practice and trials. No one suddenly gets this organized this quickly. There's a possibility that there are other bodies of known or suspected homeless people that were his first targets that didn't make the cut. Even before the unsub started on the homeless it's possible that they tested their methods on animals to see what it would take," Reid pointed out.

"Well, I'll get you all the files I can but it won't cover all of the disappearances in the area. You'd be surprised by how many homeless just disappear. No missing person's report, nothin'," Parker added.

J.J. nodded. "Any information you can offer would be a great help."

Parker nodded and left to get the files together.

Reid looked over to the map that had been placed up on a board. Stick pins had been placed in the places that the bodies were dumped. All the pins seemed to be in the downtown area rather than in the less populated outskirts.

"This unsub seems to be confident enough to dump the bodies in a place of high population. There are many more less populated places to dump a body and never be seen but these bodies are all found by someone in the downtown area whether by sanitation workers or restaurant staff," Reid thought aloud as he looked at the map.

J.J. looked over to the map. "Seems like he is well versed with the area." She looked back to the files on the table and began to flip through the photos taken of the most recent victim.

A black SUV pulled up to the curb outside the taped off crime scene. Hotch and Rossi exited the vehicle and headed towards the yellow tape.

"Seems to be in a heavy populated area," Rossi noted as he looked around at the diverted flow of pedestrians that seemed never ending.

"Considering the amount of foot traffic the unsub would either have to be driving a vehicle that isn't out of place driving in and out of these alleyways or they are dropping the body off at a such a time when there aren't many people around," Hotch agreed and suggested.

"That would narrow down the possible vehicles and times for the drop at the very least."

After they ducked under the yellow police tape they were approached by what seemed to be the Captain of the local police force.

Hotch and Rossi took out their credentials and flashed them to the Captain as Hotch introduced them. "I'm Aaron Hotcher of the BAU and this is SSA Rossi."

The Captain shook hands with both of them as they put up their credentials. "I'm Captain Stoker. Good to have you guys on board. I've seen some crazy stuff in my day but I've never seen anything like this. At first we thought we caught the guy. There was some nut that was practically a cannibal. Been arrested a few times for trying to take bites out of people and the cuts on the body weren't smooth like they are now."

He motioned them over to where the newest body laid.

Rossi knelt down by the markings to show how the body was laid there.

"While this was a body dump it doesn't seem like the body was just discarded like trash. There was some care in positioning the body wasn't there?" He asked.

"Now that you mention it, yeah there was. Guy was all stretched out but with his arms flat down his sides and his clothing was actually clean despite being placed on the garbage pile," the Captain confirmed.

"The victim was redressed after he was killed and amputated," Hotch said to no one in particular. He looked over to Captain Stoker. "Besides the damage to the body did he look like a homeless person?"

"The ME said the body was clean for a homeless man. Only way we knew this one was homeless because he had been arrested in the past."

"What were the charges?" Rossi asked.

"Robbery. Guess he tried to pick the wrong pocket this time," Captain Stoker said grimly in a vain attempt at humor.

"Thank you Captain. You've been very helpful," Hotcher said as the Captain moved off to talk to the other officers.

"What do you think Hotch?" Rossi asked.

Hotch looked down to the area the body had been found and then around him. "The unsub is a member of this community. At the very least he knows how long it'll take him to kidnap, kill, dismember, dump the body and get out of the area before he's seen. I didn't see any marks on the curb that would suggest tire marks so the unsub must have a vehicle he can drive through the alleys in and get back out."

"That takes a lot of planning. You'd have to know what alleys are dead ends and what your escape route is."

"You also have to be aware of the police presence in the area. The routes they take. Then, you have to have a secondary route if your primary one is blocked."

"The unsub would have to constantly be watching and looking for his next target and drop point."

"We need to narrow down the time in which the streets empty enough after most people go home and when the waste management trucks make their rounds."

"Since all the victims are homeless there's not going to be much information about them or their movements. The only thing we could hope for is someone comes forward with information or a way to talk to the other homeless in the area. To make them aware of the situation. Otherwise we are going to have a large group of victims who are unaware of the danger."

Morgan looked up and down the hallway he stepped into as he moved out of the high class shining elevator. The hallway with its expensive light fixtures, fresh smells, and unworn carpets spoke of the kind of money that stayed in this hotel.

He moved down the hall with his own air of confidence as the gold plated number placards shone his reflection back at him as he passed each door which was wider apart than in most hotels.

Once he was nearly at the end of the hallway, Derek Morgan stopped in front of room 1335. He gave a sharp few knocks on the door and waited.

It wasn't long till sound could be heard behind the door. Soon after, a voice carried through.

"Who is it?" said a gruff voice.

Derek Morgan removed his badge from where it was hooked to his belt and flashed it to the peephole as he replied, "I'm Derek Morgan with the BAU here to ask questions about the night Mr. Lambert's wallet was stolen. I was told the meeting was set up by the Chief of Police." He hooked his badge back on his belt as he waited.

After a few moments hesitation, the door was unlocked and opened. A bodyguard dressed in the always typical black shirt, black dress pants, and black dress shoes was standing in the door.

"Come in, I with inform Mr. Lambert that you've arrived," said the unnamed bodyguard as he turned and headed back out of the main entry way and disappeared into the room beyond.

Derek Morgan followed the bodyguard and looked around the room that opened up before him. The bodyguard was nowhere in sight but a door off to the right of the room was open.

The room was opulent. It was the size of any normal living room in a typical home. All the furniture was expensively made with a full sofa, side tables with glass vases full of real flowers, a glass and dark wood table in front of the sofa and two arm chairs on the opposite side of the table from the sofa.

A full screen, flat panel TV was hanging off the wall closest to the door and below it was a dark wood entertainment center with all the newest electronics. The other walls were decorated with the typical paintings of stationary items in gilded frames.

Derek looked over as he caught movement out of the corner of his eyes and spotted the male figure that had just entered the room.

It was the same man from the tabloids and newspapers this time dressed more conservatively in a black button down shirt with the top buttons unbuttoned. This revealed the set of necklaces he wore around his neck. The shirt was tucked into a pair of black dress pants with a black belt with silver studs and buckle. Black square toed boots pointed out from under the flare of the dress pants.

He smiled to Derek and walked over with his hand extended and a shine to his blue eyes that were lined with black liner.

"You must be Agent Morgan that I was told was coming," said Adam Lambert as he shook Morgan's hand.

"Yes, I'm Agent Morgan from the BAU. Thank you for seeing me Mr. Lambert," Derek politely replied.

"You can call me Adam. Please, have a seat."

Adam motioned to the furniture as he moved over to sit on the sofa.

"Thank you," he said as he took a seat in the chair across from him. "I came here to ask you about what happened the night that your wallet was stolen. It seems you and your bodyguard might have been the last people to see the victim alive."

Adam's face dropped into a more serious one. "I hate to think about what was done to him. About what kind of person it would take to do that to another human being."

"Any help that you could offer about the last time you saw the victim would be a great help."

"Well, my bodyguard saw the man first. Once he stole my wallet, one of my bodyguards chased him down. I couldn't see anything for a short while since the rest of the bodyguards surrounded me. However, they all relaxed and led me down the sidewalk. I saw my bodyguard holding the man down and a second figure kneeling next to them that seemed to be a young woman."

"A young woman?"

"Yes. When I got close enough to see what had happened I could tell it was a young woman. She stood up and looked at me and I could tell she was homeless by her appearance alone. Even with the lack of light I could see that she wore glasses and had brown hair."

"Did you catch her name?"

"Catherine…her name was Catherine."

Morgan wrote the name down on a note pad he pulled out of his pocket.

"No last name?"

"Not one that she told me. At the time she seemed scared because of the situation but she was more afraid of what was going to be done about Gary and then by the paparazzi that rushed over to get their photos."

"She wasn't pictured in any of the papers."

"I didn't think she would be. I know she was mentioned briefly but she deserved more than that for what she did."

"What did she do?"

"According to my bodyguard, it was apparently Catherine who had just come out of an alleyway ahead of the chase that tackled Gary to the ground. Once the bodyguard arrived, she let him take over and just knelt nearby and waited to try and prevent me from pressing charges."

"She stood up for Gary?"

"Yes she did. She told me he was new to being homeless and that he was just hungry and didn't know a better way to get food without stealing. That she was or had been trying to help him out. Seemed by that statement alone that she had been homeless for a while if she was able to command any respect among the other homeless like that."

"How old do you think she was?"

"I'm not sure. She was short, short enough that I first thought she was Gary's daughter or some semblance of that. But the way she talked sounded like she had been more formally educated. So at least late 20s but beyond that I wouldn't know."

"How tall would you say she was?" Derek was writing everything down in his notebook.

"Maybe 5'. Maybe shorter. Again it was hard to tell but she was much shorter than I am. She'd maybe come up to about here." Adam motioned on the side of his body at about halfway up his chest. "She would be at least a foot shorter than I am and I'm 6'1"."

Morgan wrote it down in this notebook then looked back to Adam.

"What happened next?"

"I told her that I wasn't going to press charges which seemed to relieve her greatly though she was still tense around the photographers. Not that I could blame her. I gave five dollars to Gary and told my bodyguard to let him go. After he took off, I offered 20 dollars to Catherine and she didn't want to take it. Told me that she didn't want to just take something she didn't earn. I told her that she did earn it for making sure I got my wallet back. She didn't like it but she eventually took it. I watched her walk off before I headed back to my limo with my bodyguards."

"Where did this happen at?"

"I'd say two alleyways down from the restaurant I went to that night. Near the corner of South Spring Street and West Markham Street."

Derek added that bit of information into his notepad before putting it away.

"You've been a great help. How much longer will you be in town in case we need to ask some more questions?"

"I'll be here another week or so. You can contact me the same way to set up another time if you have more questions. I'd just like to ask one thing."

"Sure."

"If you see that girl again I told you about thank her again for me for helping out. She didn't have to jump in and she was the only one that did while other men just watched. She did a brave thing and she deserves to know that. I'd like to be able to tell her myself if the chance ever came up."

"I'll tell her for you." Derek rose from his chair as Adam followed suit.

They shook hands.

"Again, thanks for the information. You've been a great help."

Adam nodded with a smile to Derek.

"You're welcome."

With that, Derek left the hotel room. After closing the door and starting to head down the hallway, he pulled out his cell phone and called Hotch.

"Hey Hotch. I got a lead on the girl that was at the scene the night the singer's wallet was stolen. I'm heading over to the area and see if I can find her."

He paused a moment as he listened to Hotch's response.

"I'll send Rossi over to meet you. I need to head to the police station and see what head way J.J. and Reid have made. What's the address?"

Derek parroted off the information that Adam had given him.

"Rossi will be on his way shortly. He'll wait for you if he makes it there first."

"All right, Hotch." Derek said in closing as he closed his phone and got back on the elevator.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

By the time Derek finally arrived at the location, Rossi was all ready waiting for him. Derek parked the black SUV behind Rossi's and hopped out. He headed over to where Rossi was waiting on the sidewalk.

"Good to see you, Rossi," Derek said in greeting.

"Same to you," Hotch said you got a lead on another person who saw the victim before they were found dead."

"Yeah, it was a second homeless person. A young woman who was apparently the one that tackled the victim when he tried to make off with the singer's wallet," Derek replied.

"Oh really? So either a good Samaritan, a possible suspect or a possible future victim."

"If she turns out to be the first or the last or both then she could help in ways that might help us catch this guy before he kills again. I don't see her being the one to take these men and women on alone. According to Mr. Lambert, the girl might only be about five foot, maybe a little over and wears glasses. Not exactly someone that could easily overtake a grown man or woman unless there is a partner we haven't accounted for."

"That's true, if there's an accomplice then it makes overwhelming an individual, especially a lone homeless person, much easier," Rossi said as he looked around. "So this is the area that the girl was last seen?"

"Yes it was, so she was either passing by or found some shelter nearby that she lives in."

"Looks like we have to start asking nearby businesses if they've seen her."

Rossi and Morgan headed off down the street and began describing the young woman they were looking for. Most places they came across didn't know her and didn't care. Others thought that they might have seen her in one place or another.

Eventually, they walked into a small market on the opposite side from where they started.

Rossi headed up to the counter and flashed his badge.

"Excuse me sir, are you the owner here?"

"Yes I am. What do you want?" the man asked suspiciously.

"We just need to ask if you've seen a girl here before. She'd be a young woman around five feet tall, brown hair, and wears glasses. Also she is a homeless person that goes by the name Catherine."

The man narrowed his eyes. "Did she do something wrong?"

"We just need to question her to find out what she knows about the homeless man that was found murdered a few blocks from here. Apparently, she was one of the last people to see him alive and we are hoping she can help us stop this from happening."

The man looked at him closely for a moment. "Just a moment," he said before heading out from behind the counter and heading into the back through the employee door.

"Looks like we might have caught a break," Morgan said.

Minutes later, the owner of the store came back through the door but this time there was someone following him.

It was a young woman. Her long brown hair was in obvious need of cleaning and washing but she had managed to tie it back. Her glasses had a slight crack in them and while her clothes bore some dirt and grime the rest of her body looked pretty clean. The only odd mark on her was a bruise on the right side of her face. As she approached Rossi and Morgan, it was apparent that she was shorter than she seemed because she still kept her chin up and had some confidence that made her seem bigger.

"Mr. Hale told me you were looking for me?" the young woman said with confusion in her voice that did carry the formal education that the singer had spoken of.

"Are you Catherine?" Rossi asked.

"I am. Who are you and what do you want? I need to finish the job I started for Mr. Hale," Catherine replied.

"You work here?" Morgan asked.

"She and I have a deal. She comes and does whatever chores I need done around here and then instead of paying her I tell her how much she has in store credit so she can get the things she needs," Mr. Hale answered.

Catherine nodded. "I have a good deal here. I don't want to mess it up by leaving a job undone."

"I'm Agent Rossi and this is Agent Morgan from the FBI," Rossi offered to answer part of her question.

"Do you know a man named Gary Sanders?" Morgan asked.

"The last name isn't familiar to me but I do know a Gary," Catherine replied.

"Was he a homeless man?"

Catherine looked suspicious and worried as she replied, "Yeah… Why do you ask?" She looked between the pair.

"Gary Sanders was found dead in an alleyway this morning," Rossi said calmly.

Catherine's jaw dropped and her face paled at the news.

"Gary….Gary's dead? Wha…what happened to him?" Catherine said though somewhat shaken by the news.

"So you didn't know?" Rossi asked.

Catherine looked at Rossi and seemed to be gathering herself to speak. "After he took off after that guy gave him some money, I went to try and find him. Try and tell him that there was a better way than stealing from people but I couldn't find him. I felt bad for him. Gary was new to being homeless and he wasn't taking it well. Most don't in the beginning."

By the time she finished talking she had regained her composure but there was still fear in her eyes and a tension to the way she held herself that she couldn't quite hide.

"We would like you to come down to the station and look over the photos to confirm if this is the guy you know and to answer some more questions," Morgan said politely and softly.

Catherine opened her mouth to say something and stopped. Then she looked over to Mr. Hale.

Mr. Hale smiled softly to her. "I'll give you a free pass this time. Come back later and we can work out something."

She slowly nodded and then looked back to the men.

"I guess I'm okay to go then…" Catherine looked a bit unsure again.

"Right this way then, Catherine," Morgan headed over to the door and opened it up for her as they led her out to the waiting cars on the other side of the block.

Back at the police station, J.J. was filling Hotch in on what Doctor Reid and she had found.

"The Chief was right. There are tons of gaps here in time were there isn't a single report of a homeless person missing or of any other suspicious deaths of homeless people. Most of the ones here are OD's or suicides. Apart from the ones we were informed of, there doesn't seem to be any new information," J.J. explained.

"So either there are bodies that haven't been discovered yet or we found the beginning of when the unsub started killing the homeless people and the only way we can get any farther back is to discover the unsub's past," Hotch said as he looked over the files. "What else do we know about the area the bodies have been dumped in?"

"As Garcia mentioned, it's a pretty small geographic area. Either the area means something to the unsub personally or it's just the easiest place to dump a body that won't be found too quickly afterwards."

That was when Reid came back into the room with the coroner's reports that he set on the table.

"After looking at the coroner's reports, this unsub either has basic medical training or they are using some kind of book to help them perform their actions," Reid concluded.

"What makes you say that?" Hotch asked.

"In looking at the ones who had their eyes cut out. While it seems clean on the outside, the inside of the sockets have what looked like to be hesitation cuts. But I think the unsub is not used to doing this kind of procedure but knows the mechanics of how it's done. The tools used on the wrists to cut off the hands wasn't a sharp saw blade or sawing tool like one might find at an emergency room but something that wasn't well kept up and didn't make a clean cut. By the lack of blood flow, it was apparent the body parts were taken long after the victim was dead."

"So that rules out torture," Hotch summarized.

"But if the unsub isn't immediately cutting these people up then he has to be holding them alive somewhere before he kills them," J.J. said.

Hotch looked to Reid. "What did the coroner say the cause of death was?"

Reid looked back over the reports for the one he was looking for as he began to read, "according to the coroner, they found a small mark on the arm of each of the victim presumably from a needle. The tox(sp?) screen showed a lethal dose of heroin in their system."

"So the unsub holds them for a short time, then manages to inject heroin into their system. That would actually cause a numb feeling while the victim is dying," J.J. said with surprise in her voice.

"The unsub isn't killing them in a brutal way. There are enough poisons out there that would cause pain but the unsub chooses one that is calming. Like he's putting them to rest," Reid offered. "Maybe there is a religious angle to this. If the unsub sees themselves as the savior of those committing sins, then he wouldn't see this as murder but a mercy killing. The unsub is absolving them of their sins and trying to send them to heaven."

"If that is the case then we have something to work with when Rossi and Morgan come in with another possible witness," Hotch said as he rose from the chair.

"Another witness?" J.J. asked.

"Apparently, the act of a homeless woman being the one to stop a man from robbing a singer wasn't sensational enough. But according to the singer, that's exactly what happened. Morgan and Rossi located the girl and are bringing her in. They should be here any moment," Hotch answered.

In the distance, the voices of Rossi and Morgan could be heard entering the station.

The group in the meeting room rose to look at the girl they had brought in.

Rossi had moved off to get an interview room ready while Morgan was waiting near the front of the station with the homeless girl they had picked up. He was talking to her as they stood there and she shook her head at something he said.

Reid looked closely at the girl as she turned to look around the police station. His genius mind flashed back to a memory upon seeing her face. He remembered her. Quickly, he strode out of the meeting area with Hotch and J.J asking after him. However, he moved up towards Morgan and the young woman but stopping just out of reach as he looked down at her.

Morgan and the young woman turned to look at him at his sudden arrival.

Catherine looked at him studying his face before tilting her head slightly. "You seem…familiar."

Morgan looked between the pair looking confused as Hotch and J.J came up behind Reid and Rossi came back over from the interrogation room.

"What is it Reid?" Hotch asked.

Catherine looked shocked for the second time that day.

"Reid? Spencer Reid?" Catherine asked.

"Hello Catherine," Reid said with a shy smile that Catherine returned with a full smile.

"Reid, you know this woman?" Morgan asked.

Reid looked to Morgan. "Yes I do." He looked back to Catherine. "This is Catherine Harmon. We went to college together."

Minutes later, the team found themselves gathered together watching Reid sitting with Catherine in the interrogation room. Neither side seemed to be saying much from what they could see.

"What are the odds of Reid actually knowing someone from this case?" Morgan asked.

"Reid doesn't share much of himself with us. Like the case back in Las Vegas. He might have blocked even this part of his life away from himself only to have it come back when he saw Catherine," Rossi replied as a way of offering a possible explanation.

"In any case, Reid is going to be the best one to get her to open up about what she knows. She trusts him. Maybe enough to help us out," Hotch said as he watched the pair.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Catherine sat in a chair next to Reid. A cup of water that she accepted but hadn't touched yet was still sitting on the table in front of her.

Despite knowing each other in the past, they had only conducted small talk, asking how the other was, the surprise of seeing them again. Neither of them seemed to know what else to say.

She glanced at him as he sat there rolling his lower lip around in the way that usually spoke of his nervousness or that he was thinking.

Finally, Reid pulled up the courage to speak. "What, uh…what happened to your face?"

Catherine reached up to her bruised cheek without thinking before she lowered her hand and responded, "Well…I suppose it happened when I stopped Gary from running away with that guy's wallet."

"So, you really did stop a grown man from stealing a wallet?"

Catherine faintly smirked. "You sound so surprised Reid. I don't really think I've changed all that much. Then again, I don't really have much in the way of a frame of reference anymore." She grew solemn as she finally picked up the cup of water and took a sip before setting it back down.

"You never really did tell me what happened. How you became…"

"Homeless?" Catherine finished for him. "You and I… You know we never really shared much with each other. Even back then. We were just there for each other when we were needed. But let's just say…the economy wasn't as nice to me as it was to you. Plus, you had all the brains. I knew it would really take you somewhere one day. And here you are, working for the FBI."

Catherine's comment reminded Reid that there was still a job to be done.

"About that…what did you know about Gary?"

She grew serious as she looked at him for a moment. "Gary used to have a family but he didn't like to talk about it. I think he felt guilty but I never pushed him about it. He had a hard enough time dealing with being homeless."

"What do you mean?"

"For a while, he would beg for money like most of them do in the beginning but he'd try to waste it on alcohol unless I managed to catch him before he bought any. He could have easily drunk himself to death without someone helping him because he didn't reach out for help. So, I did what I could for him. Showed him how to keep himself clean and how to make sure to get the things needed. But he didn't really understand. Didn't want to work at being the type of homeless person that is more than a thief but someone that doesn't want people to give up on him. To be worth helping to a better place. That's all I really knew about Gary save for the place he rested at night."

"Did he stay at a homeless shelter?"

Catherine shook her head. "No, you'd be surprised how many homeless don't or can't. Gary was one of those that just didn't see the point. So, he slept in an abandoned crate in one of the alleyways. Most wouldn't know how to get there unless they took the time to really look for it."

Reid paused for a moment about to say something but then changed his mind and moved to the next question to be asked.

"After Gary took off, which way did he go?"

"He ran farther down for the sidewalk…maybe another block before he disappeared into another alley. It was hard to tell which one with all the people on the sidewalk."

"And you didn't see him the rest of the night?"

Catherine shook her head. "After I left, I went looking for him. I checked in all the spots he was usually seen at but I couldn't find him anywhere. I just assumed that he found some other place or was hiding somewhere."

"Did he have any friends? Someone he would talk to?"

"I wasn't aware of any besides myself. It's always possible there was someone that he didn't want me to know about. Someone selling drugs or something else. That's just part of this culture that I don't know anything about."

"You said you were trying to help him. Were their others? Other that you tried to help or that would listen to you?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

Reid paused a moment trying to think how to word the next part.

"You know that Gary is dead but…it seems that…there is someone out on the streets that are targeting homeless people."  
"You mean…someone killing homeless people?"

Reid nodded slowly. "But there's no way to make the rest of the homeless population aware of what's happening. You said that not all the homeless stay at the homeless shelters or they can't. Even if we had them warn people it wouldn't protect everyone. We want to protect as many as we can."

"I can warn the people I know and have them spread the word if you and your people put the word out to the homeless shelters and soup kitchens. Word travels fast on the streets by word of mouth. Just have to get everyone talking. It would take the rest of the day to spread the word but it could be done. Is that what you want me to do?"

Reid nodded. "Yes, but only if you promise to meet me back here once you've got the ball rolling."

Catherine looked a little confused. "Come back here? Why?"

"I…I'll have more questions for you once it's set up. That's all."

This seemed reasonable enough to her as an explanation. "All right then. I'll come back here as soon as I know I have it working." She paused for a moment. "Is that all?"

"Actually, I'd like to ask if you can think of any people in particular that no one would think twice about trusting out there on the street."

Catherine seemed to think about that a moment. "Anyone that might work or volunteer at the soup kitchens or homeless shelters. Sometimes they go out and had out food to the homeless. Then priests, pastors, nuns, pretty much anyone in the religious end of things. And cops of course but not back into the deep alleys where the others go to. Cops won't patrol back into the alleyways without just cause. Maybe that's why you can't find this guy. If he's back in there and subdues them or they trust him somehow then the cops wouldn't even know it's happening till the…the body is found."

Reid nodded and smiled. "That's really helpful. Is there anyone else you can think of?"

She took a slow breath and really gave this more thought. Her eyes turned downward as she thought through the possibilities.

"I really can't think of anyone else that could just come into the alleys that someone would trust or at least cause a commotion. I mean, unless this guy was dressing up like a homeless guy then that would be something new for a short time but after a while it'd be suspicious if everyone he hung out with disappeared."

"So you've narrowed it down to homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and churches. That's really helpful."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

Catherine smiled softly. "I'm glad I could help."

"Well, I do have one other question I want to ask you."

"What's that?"

Reid looked down for a moment as if gathering himself for what he had to ask before looking back to Catherine. "How…how long have you been homeless?"

Catherine blinked at him. She was taken aback by the question. Her eyes grew distant for a moment as they looked off into space. Apparently, she had to actually think about the answer to that question.

Eventually, her eyes focused back on Reid.

"I'd say around…three years now. Maybe a little more."

"How long was that after you graduated?"

"From college?"

Reid nodded.

"Around two years I suppose."

Reid took a slow breath that came out as a sigh. "I couldn't imagine how hard this all must have been on you. I thought you had such a great job lined up. You were so happy. I knew we really weren't that close save for helping each other out but…I didn't really think we'd lose contact like that."

Catherine shrugged. "The first year was only hard, Reid. I've always sorta bounced back from things like this. Making the best of what I've got. As far as the job went…like I said, the economy wasn't good for me or anyone else for that matter. Pretty much everyone who hadn't worked there more than five years was given the boot. Then, it was nearly impossible to find any other employment."

"Seems a shame though…"

Catherine shrugged and glanced to the window and saw the sun was starting to set. "Well, I better head out now if we want to get this guy before he takes someone else." She looked back to Reid.

"Oh right. Yeah." He rose. "Just remember to meet me back here." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his card and handed it to Catherine. "If they try to keep you out show them this card and tell them I'm expecting you."

Catherine took the card and looked at it before shoving it in her pocket. She rose from her chair and looked up to Reid as she nodded. "Sure, I'll come back. Might take me a couple of hours but I'll do my best."

"Thanks." He smiled to her.

Catherine smiled back to him. "You're welcome. It was nice seeing you again."

Reid headed over to the door and opened it for Catherine as she headed out. She passed by the rest of the group waving to them as she headed out the front of the police station. Reid came over to join them but was watching her retreating figure.

"How'd it go?" Morgan asked.

Reid looked to him quickly having just heard him. "Oh, it went well. I know she wasn't the one that did these things. Even if there was a partner of some kind. But she's going to help us out."

"How is she going to do that?" Rossi asked with suspicion thick in his voice.

"She is going to start spreading the word through the other homeless in the area to make them watchful about the area. To know that all the homeless dying or disappearing is all connected. She believed that it would spread quickly that way and if we also warned all the homeless shelters, soup kitchens, or churches in the area to keep an eye out. Anyone that either works or volunteers there could be the unsub. It'd have to be someone that likes going out there alone instead of with the group since a large group."

Hotch nodded. "Good work Reid. Anything else?"

"She said she didn't think it would be someone pretending to be a homeless person. That even among the homeless they would be wary of the person who befriended someone and they suddenly go missing or turn up dead. That makes sense. Even though the homeless are wary of the police, they would still report something like this. Also that maybe the reason no one is seeing this happening is not only because this unsub is someone they might trust or allow them to get close enough without making much noise is that it's happening in a place that the police rarely look. Most of the alleyways can't be seen by simply driving by and shining a light."

"If all this is true, it may narrow down our suspect pool. The homeless shelters and soup kitchens might keep records of the people that work for them or be able to recall someone that was more interested than most in the homeless who commit those serious crimes but haven't been caught," Morgan suggested.

"J.J., I want you and Morgan to work on contacting the homeless shelters and soup kitchens within the unsub's pick up and disposal site. Speak only with the heads of the department. If the unsub catches wind of us getting close he might move to a new location. Also, check to see if all these homeless people have a connection in one of those places," Hotch said.

"You got it," said Morgan as J.J. and himself headed off to get started.

"Rossi I want you to check out the churches in the area and see if they send out groups of people on a regular basis or if it's a more a single person operation. If they send out groups, find out if there is one particular person that either wanted to join them or prefers to work alone," Hotch continued.

Rossi headed off with his instructions.

"Reid, you and I will talk to the officers here and ask that they be more vigilant in their rounds at night. Depending on how this works out, we might have to have Catherine come back in," Hotch said.

"Actually, I told Catherine to come back for more questions once she got the people she knew to pass the word along," Reid replied.

"Good thinking, Reid. With any luck we just might be able to find clues about our unsub before he strikes again."


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Hotch had the Chief of Police assemble all of police officers for a briefing about their unsub. Having set up the boards of information they had gathered so far behind them.

"Our unsub is a male who is acting alone. If this were a woman, she would have the need of a male partner to help subdue and carry her victims. In this case, a team dynamic wouldn't be helpful into taking these homeless victims off the streets," Hotch began.

One of the officers spoke up. "Why couldn't it be a team of two people doing this?"

"After talking with the homeless people in the area we have determined that they'd be more likely to trust either a large group of people from a church or soup kitchen that makes scheduled rounds in the area or a single individual that looks harmless enough or is in some kind of disguise that would allow him to get close enough to his targets without causing them to panic," Hotch replied.

"You see, we know that no one in the area heard or saw anything when the victims were abducted. Even the most relaxed homeless person caught alone when approached by two people they don't know would be wary," Reid explained further.

The Chief of Police looked a bit confused now as he spoke up.

"Then, how is this man able to get close enough to the victims to abduct them?"

"We believe that the unsub has taken on the guise of either a church leader like a priest or preacher or as a worker at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. Something that would be recognizable by any homeless person on the street as well as an easily obtainable costume that wouldn't require the unsub any more effort to obtain than a run to any thrift store," Hotch stated as he answered his question while looking among the other officers.

"So are you saying the killer is a religious leader?" An officer asked with a shocked tone.

"Not at all. It's not likely the unsub was able to maintain a job in that sort of sense as well as have time for capturing, killing, dismembering, and dumping the body in such a sort amount of time. He is most likely posing as a religious leader to get close enough to his targets without raising suspicion," Reid answered.

"As we said, he wouldn't have a job in the traditional sense. With this unsub's history and with the manner he's killing his victims he has suffered a serious mental break sometime in the past. There was some severe stressor that caused this break. By all accounts, it appears the unsub has religious motivations for his actions.

"Each of the victims was arrested for a crime and at one time or another was probably featured on the news for the crime. Once the unsub knows their crime, he hunts them down. After he has his victim, he doesn't immediately mutilate their bodies but kills them in a way that suggests he considers it a mercy killing. They don't suffer as they die. After they die is when the unsub removes the body part that coincides with their crime as stated in Biblical terms. The hands for theft. The tongue for their blaspheming. Their eyes for viewing things of adult nature," Hotch continued.

"While these aren't typical punishments anyone will find in the Bible, it's the unsub's way to send them to heaven absolved of the parts of their body that helped them commit those crimes that he believes God has called everyone to abstain from. He has effectively become a servant carrying out God's will," Reid added.

"My team is checking out the local soup kitchens, homeless shelters and churches to narrow down where the unsub would be connected to as well as to warn them about the dangers of this man and keep a close eye on the people working under them. We want to stress vigilance when you go out on your sweeps at night. Take a closer and longer look than you usually would. He has managed to hide farther back in the alleyways than any police would typically search. If anything seems out of place at all investigate as best you can but be on your guard. This man may be able to maintain his guise for time but he is extremely dangerous and will carry out his mission using any means he can," Hotch finished as the briefing was completed.

J.J. and Morgan came over as the police officers broke from the debriefing.

"We checked with all the local soup kitchens and homeless shelters. They are on notice but they haven't had anyone fitting the profile we have try and work with their organization. They haven't even been concerned about their volunteers. No suspicious activity at all," Morgan reported.

"What about a list of their workers for Garcia?" Hotch asked.

"They keep a list of workers at the locations and a sign in sheet for the volunteers that they will be faxing over soon," J.J. replied.

"At least that'll give us a place to start," Hotch stated.

Rossi joined them.

"Looks we have more than a place to start," Rossi said.

"What is it Rossi?" Morgan asked.

"I checked with the local churches in the area. The First United Methodist church, located down on Center Street, was able to help out. He said that a while back a young man came to their church looking to fill a position with the outreach ministry that worked with helping the homeless, destitute and orphans. However, during the interview when they talked to him about his views on the homeless and destitute they had to turn him away. This church is only five or six blocks away from the corner where Mr. Lambert said Gary tried to steal his wallet."

"What did he say?" Hotch asked.

"Apparently, he saw most of the homeless as leeches of society. Leeches that broke the laws of God and needed to be punished for their sins." Rossi replied with a smirk on his lips.

"That sounds like the beginning of his façade cracking," Reid stated eagerly.

"Did they remember the name of the man?" Hotch quickly asked.

"Said they could never forget. The man's name is Samuel Humphrees," Rossi replied. "I all ready have Garcia running the name for any information about him."

"We should check through the lists being faxed in to see if he has ever worked for the homeless shelters or soup kitchen near the church," J.J. said as she led the team over to the conference room where the fax machine was buzzing away with the information that was flooding in.

"Looks like we have our work cut out for us till Garcia calls," Morgan said as the team settled in to sift through the information to try and find a link.

A few hours later, as the sun was beginning to set, a knock sounded on the door to the conference room where the team was sorting through the last of the information they were given.

Hotch looked up to see one of the deputies looking in. "Yes?"

"Sorry to bother you all but there is a lady up front that says she's here to report back to Doctor Reid," the deputy said.

Reid looked up from his notes. "Oh, that must be Catherine." He rose from his chair. "I'll be right back guys."

With that he followed the deputy out to see Catherine.

Just after the door closed, Morgan's phone began to ring. He checked who was calling and answered it immediately turning it on to speaker phone.

"Hey baby girl. Whatcha got for us?" Morgan asked with a smile.

"Hello my chickadees. I can tell you this right now you've got one serious case here on this guy," Garcia began.

"What did you find?" Hotch asked.

"Samuel Humphrees was the only son of Sarah and Paul Humphrees. He was born and raised in a little town in southern Alabama. His father was a pastor at their local church and was known for his fiery sermons denouncing the evils of the world. Every school Samuel was sent to throughout his years had a religious view that the parents prescribed to. The father had no criminal record to speak of and the family was seen as the epitome of a good religious family. Samuel was being groomed to become a preacher himself despite his many shortcomings during his education," Garcia laid out for them.

"What shortcomings?" Rossi asked.

"Apparently, young Samuel had problems with many of his classmates throughout his school years. He instigated many fights over religious issues and despite all of the school's best efforts to get the parents to help out they took no action of any kind. Either Samuel pulled it together or got smarter about his infractions because he graduated although not at the top of this class.

"His parents then worked to send him to the best religious college they could find. Samuel was accepted into HardingUniversity in Searcy, Arkansas in hopes of becoming a pastor of a local church upon graduation," Garcia continued.

"That's not too far from here. Only about an hour drive at most. That's when he moved up here with his extreme religious views backed by his extremely religious family and then was denied by the very institution that he had dedicated his life to," Morgan pointed out.

"Garcia, where is he located now?" Hotch asked.

"That's just it, sir. After he was rejected by The First United Methodist Church he went off the grid. He never had a single credit card, never got a traffic ticket. To keep this low he'd have to pay for everything in cash and it'd keep his name off the books," Garcia admitted none too happily.

"Keep digging Garcia. He has to have a place he can take his victims that gives him enough privacy to complete his task and to keep anyone from hearing any sounds that might occur while he's working," Hotch commanded firmly but kindly.

"I'm on it sir. If he has any holdings at all I'll find them. Garcia out," she said as the call was ended.

"Well we have the history, the stressor, and the break and now all we need to do is find this guy. Hopefully before he strikes again," Rossi stated knowing they were close to their goal. "He's in this area somewhere close to where he's been abducting his victims."

Catherine was waiting in one of the chairs in the front of the police station waiting for either the officer to come back and take her to Spencer or for Spencer to come to her. She yawned hugely having been running around all over the place trying to get the chain of awareness started.

By the time she opened her eyes from her yawn she spotted Spencer coming towards her. She rose from her seat and smiled at him.

"Well, I'm back just like I said I would be," she said unnecessarily.

Reid shyly smiled. "Let's just sit down for a moment. You must be tired."

Catherine sat down as Reid moved to sit next to her. "Yeah well, had more walking to do today than I've had to do in a while. Does take it out of a person I guess."

"So, um, everything is going then?"

"Yeah, as good as I can manage. I've got everyone spreading the word. Just hope it spreads quickly enough before that lunatic tries this again."

"Well, that's what we're working on here."

"I know you can't really tell me anything but can you tell me if you've gotten closer to catching whoever is doing this?"

Reid softly smiled. "Actually, we are."

Catherine smiled back. "That's good to hear. I'm glad." She took a slow breath and seemed to release a bit of tension that had settled on her shoulders. "So, you said you might have more questions for me when I came back."

"Yeah um…" Reid worried his lower lip a bit as he thought quickly. "Actually, I only wanted to ask if you would do something for me."

Her brow furrowed as a confused look crossed her face. She pushed her glasses back up her nose as she looked at Reid. "What is it?"

"Look…um…I'm worried about you being out there with this killer on the loose. I know you said you don't like taking charity," Reid said before pausing for a moment. "Would you…for at least one night stay at the hotel with me? You could consider it payment for your help in all of this. But really, I want to really talk with you again and have the time to do so and…that's the only way I can think to have the time."

Catherine looked shocked as her eyes grew wide behind her glasses. She blinked a few times as she looked at Reid seeming to try and make sure she had heard him correctly. Seeing that he was just waiting on her reply she slowly settled down and thought about what he had offered.

She slowly sighed. "One night?"

"One night." Reid replied.

"Now, if I agree to this, then know that the only way you can make me stay longer is if you prove that I'm personally in danger. I haven't committed crimes like the others did. So unless something else comes up that proves no homeless person is safe then I'll be heading back out the next day. Deal?"

The she spoke seemed to indicate that this was one place she wasn't going to negotiate on. She'd accept this offer for now but to her she wasn't planning on making herself a burden or to use this as a way to be a moocher.

Reid looked solemnly back at her and nodded. "All right, I can have a police officer take you to the hotel I'm staying at make sure you get settled. Feel free to make yourself at home and I'll call the room when I'm coming back."

"All right," Catherine said as she rose from the chair she sat in and Reid followed suit. She watched as Reid moved over to a nearby counter and wrote something down on a scrap of paper.

He looked around the station and motioned to someone before turning back to Catherine as he pulled something from his pocket and held it out to her.

"This is the room key so you can get in when you get there. I hope to be back there shortly," Reid said.

Catherine took the key from Reid and looked at it a moment before placing it in her pocket and looking back to him. She was about to speak when a police officer came up behind Reid.

He turned and looked to the police officer. After taking a quick look at his name plate he spoke with a smile to the officer. "Officer Douglas, this is Catherine. I know you were about to head out on your rounds but would you make a slight side trip and drop her off at this address and makes sure she gets in safely?" Reid handed the address to the officer.

Officer Douglas took a quick look at the address and nodded to Reid. "Sure thing, it's on my route anyway. I don't mind."

"Thank you very much," Reid said to the officer before looking to Catherine. "I'll see you later then."

Catherine nodded to Reid. "Yeah, see ya later."

She looked up to the officer who politely escorted her out of the police station and to his cruiser.

Reid headed back over to the team who seemed to be straightening up the files and gathering up their things.

Hotch looked up at Reid's entrance.

"Was that Catherine?" He asked idly.

Reid nodded. "Yes, it was. I asked her how things had gone and she told me everything was in motion as best as she could gather. She just hoped the word spread far enough to make a difference."

"Sounds like she really cares like the guy said," Morgan added as he pulled on his jacket.

"The guy?" Reid asked.

"Yeah, the singer. He talked about how brave she was when other well off people on the street just stood and watched. Seems a shame though," Morgan replied.

"Yeah," Reid nodded as he slowly began to gather his things.

"How did you meet her before?" J.J. asked with sincere curiosity.

Reid looked around to his fellow teammates and caught them all looking in his direction. Apparently, everyone was curious about his former interactions with a now homeless woman.

"Well, I uh… We met in college. She was working towards her Bachelor's Degree for English with a minor in Religious Studies at the time. I'm not really sure which degree I was working on at the time. But uh…yeah, she was sort of…my big sister I guess you'd say. She more or less protected me and hung out with me when she could and I helped her through her math and science courses that she was having a hard time with," he replied stumbling through his explanation.

"What happened?" Rossi asked seeming concerned.

"Before she graduated we exchanged phone numbers and addresses. We planned to keep in contact as much as possible. Eventually, that waned as we both got busier and we lost contact with each other. I hadn't seen or heard from her until now. She was in her twenties back then. By now, I'd guess she's nearing thirty but I haven't asked," Reid finally ended in a rather abbreviated version of events compared to the lengthy talks he usually gave.

The team picked up on his uneasiness as Hotch took the conversation off in another direction.

"Until Garcia comes up with locations for Samuel Humphrees since the police here have no records of him that they can find just yet I want everyone to get some rest. Keep your phones near you. He may strike again at any moment or Garcia might find out where he's been hiding. We'll have to move quickly either way. If nothing comes up meet up back here in the morning," Hotch spoke with his air of authority that still managed to be more conversational than commanding.

Unbeknownst to the team, Samuel all ready had his next victim.

A young woman with raven hair slowly came to her senses. Her vision was hazy and she found she couldn't focus her green eyes. She tried to blink away the lazy feeling as everything was coming back in snatches.

She remembered a man that looked young but was older than he seemed. He had a kind face and dark hair that was slowly graying on the sides. His eyes looked grey in the darkness of the alleyway he had met her in. At first, she had thought he was another man looking for her type of company. But that was when she noticed the white preacher collar peeking out from behind his black shirt collar. He was also wearing some weird red sash over his shoulders.

Another preacher comes to pray for her soul or something like that. Then everything went fuzzy on her.

She started to try and sit up but she found something stopped her from rising up. Her green eyes moved to her hand and found it has tied to the bed post just like her other one.

Then, a figure moved over her. She looked up and it was the same man that had stopped her on the street.

His face was still filled with the same kindness that it had held before. The holiness that most preachers reserved for their sermons and congregations. His kind looking brown eyes gazed down at her as he casually brushed his hand through the side of his short black hair.

"What am I doing here? What do you want with me?" She asked with fear creeping into her voice.

"Do not fear my child. I'm going to absolve you of your sins. You will be made pure again for your Lord," the man said.

"What are you talking about? Let me go!"

"Poor child, you must be purified. I will save you."

He raised up a syringe as he leaned over her.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Catherine was sitting in a chair of the hotel room that she had pulled over to the window so she could look out. The TV was on but she wasn't paying any attention to it.

That was how Reid found her.

He closed the door behind him noticing her hair was wet. She was still in her same clothing but had least felt all right enough to get cleaned up somewhat. But not enough apparently to just watch TV and relax.

Reid set his satchel bag on the floor near one of the double beds in the room. He was at a loss of words as he shoved his hands into his pockets; unsure what to do with them.

But he didn't have to worry for long, Catherine got the ball rolling.

"I guess this isn't typical," she said still staring out the window at the view of the city beyond.

"That what isn't typical?" Reid asked.

Catherine faintly smirked and looked over to him.

"I find it odd that ole Spencer that I could never pull one over on him manages to not know what I'm talking about. I suppose I'll start with the most obvious then and work my way through the list. I suppose it's not typical for you to do this for a supposed victim. I suppose it's not typical for you to run into people you knew before. I suppose it's not typical for both of the former to be one in the same. You can choose any one of those to address if you like but I'm more than confident that you'll be more likely to address the last one. That being, I suppose it's not typical for you to be home this early when you're on a case."

Catherine looked at him knowingly before looking back out the window.

Reid slowly walked over towards Catherine.

"You know, my coworkers would say you could only know that about me because you've known me longer. Only I know that's not the case."

"Why do you say that?" Catherine looked back over to him.

"Because I know how smart you are."

Catherine smirked. "You would say that."

Reid shrugged and sat down on the end of the bed closer to her.

"But you know how smart you really are, Reid. You were always the smart one."

"While I do have a high IQ and was able to tutor you in math and sciences while being younger than you…it means only that I had book smarts. Sure I had a photographic memory but that just means I didn't have to study as hard. I had book smarts as I've heard it called. But you had something I was still trying to learn…as if you could learn it through a book or studying."

"What did I have, Reid?"

"You grew up in a world of people your age. While our backgrounds were similar, you had to work for what you gained. While I do appreciate what I have, I think you appreciated it more because you worked so hard for it."

Catherine's smile faltered and she sighed. She drew her legs up into the chair as she looked down to the floor.

"It just means it hurts more when everything is taken from you. When all your hard work means nothing."

Reid frowned. "That doesn't sound like the strong Catherine I knew back in college. The same one that took on…four or five jocks to keep them from bothering me. It was that confidence you had despite the fact they were over six feet and you just barely hitting five."

A ghost of a smile flashed over Catherine's lips at the memory. She raised her head to flash her hazel eyes at Reid from behind their glasses.

"You were so surprised. But the point remains that back then I never thought I wouldn't be working. That I wouldn't be teaching my whole life. But when the economy took a nose dive, there suddenly wasn't enough work for everyone. Most of us weren't surprised when all the tenured professors retained their position while the rest of us who weren't tenured and didn't kiss their butts on a regular basis were given our walking papers."

Reid furrowed his brow. "That doesn't seem right at all."

"That's the way of thing in the world, Reid. You and your team have a specialized set of skills. Only so many people in the world can do what you guys do. You guys might get moved from one department to another but they recognize the fact that what each one of you offers is unique and they'd be fools to give that up. But in the teaching world, it doesn't matter how well your grades were, it doesn't matter how much your students like you. Heck it doesn't even matter that you have accolades. What matters is who you know and who you have on your side. If it's not the right people then, when something happens, you know your days are numbered.

Finding a job after being fired, well that's like trying to patch a hole in the roof of a house that's been burnt to the ground. You have to start at the very bottom again. A man as smart as you must know what the problem with that is."

Reid nodded once but not like he was happy to know. "It makes you overqualified for any job except for the one you were doing. In a bad economy…no one wants to pay extra for hiring someone that smart who got fired."

"Bingo. So that's where I am. At the bottom of the barrel. I'm just hoping that the connections I've made working so hard to not be the typical begging homeless person will eventually help me find a job doing anything. If I can even begin saving the smallest amount of money I have a chance."

Reid slowly nodded. "I understand."

Catherine gathered herself up in her eyes and the straightening of her back and shoulders reflected that. She readied herself for her question.

"If you know that, then why offer this to me. And don't give me the party line, Reid."

Reid sighed. "But I am worried about you. You were my best friend. Out there on the streets is someone attacking homeless people. We think we know the reason for him doing this. I…I want to tell you why but I can't. But I can say this, you are in just as much in danger as the rest."

"You know me. This feels like hiding out. I'm here playing it safe while everyone else is out there in danger. And when this is all over, nothing's going to change. I'll just be back out there again."

"It doesn't have to be that way."

Catherine frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Reid opened his mouth to speak then closed his mouth. He started over.

"This might surprise you, but I need a moment to think of what to say. Would you allow me to order some food for you while I think?"

Catherine's eyes widened. "Wow, the amazing Reid doesn't know how to respond. Be still my heart. Must be a doozy then." She rose from her seat with a nod. "All right, I'll go along for now then. It'll be our trade. Food for a chance to think."

She headed over to the room service menu and looked it over for a moment giving Reid his space.

Thirty minutes later, they were eating their chosen items from the menu. Catherine was eating a grilled chicken salad and Reid had opted for a burger with everything and fries.

Catherine finished her food first and sat back from her place on the bed she had chosen to sit on and looked over to Reid.

"How's the thinking going?" Catherine asked.

Reid awkwardly smirked. "Better."

He ate the last fry he wanted and started cleaning up their plates.

"So…" Catherine tried for setting up the opening for him.

Reid sighed and looked over to her. "I want you to come back with me."

Catherine looked shocked as her jaw dropped. "You must be joking."

"You know I couldn't tell a joke if my life depended on it."

"But…why would you even offer that? I don't have anything to offer in return."

"Remember when we talked about how you helped me back in college. All the months you defended me. You were like a big sister to me. You talk now about repaying those who do things for you. Getting nothing for free. I want to pay you back for taking care of me back then. I want the chance to do the same for you now."

"I don't know Reid. I'll have to think about this for a bit."

Reid nodded. "I didn't expect an answer tonight. Just consider it…please."

Catherine nodded. "Sure."

In Hotch's hotel room, he was woken in the early morning hours by his cell phone ringing. He sat up rubbing at his right eye before turning on the bedside lamp. He blinked blearily into the light before sitting up and grabbing his phone.

"Hotch." He said without a hint of tiredness despite only getting four hours sleep.

It was the Chief of Police. "Hate to interrupt your sleep Agent Hotcher but looks like your killer struck again last night."

"I'll gather the team. We'll be there in an hour or so."

He hung up and began calling the other members of his team.

Back in the police station the BAU team slowly dragged themselves in with their gear.

"Guess the precautions didn't reach everyone in time," J.J spoke with a hint of sadness to her voice.

"We did the best we could. But the homeless population is so large it's hard to keep them all safe," Morgan offered trying to console J.J.

Rossi came in behind them. "In either case, let's just hope we have some more clues today as to how he is getting away with this."

Hotch walked up to the group. "They have all ready secured the crime scene and moved the body to the morgue. Rossi I want you to come with me to the crime scene to check out the location of the body. Morgan I want you and Reid to head to the morgue to see what the M.E. has to say about the body. J.J I want you to stay here and work up a press release about these murders. The media is all ready catching wind of this and we need to give the media something to work with before things get out of control."

"Speaking of Reid…" Morgan said as he looked over his shoulder to see Reid finally coming through the door with a young woman following him. It took the team a bit to realize that this was Catherine. Her clothes were the same from the previous day but her skin and hair were clean. That dirty and ragged looking brown hair had come alive by simply being cleaned. With it's undertones of red and high tones of dark blonde it looked more at place on a working citizen than a homeless person.

Reid came over and joined the group. "Sorry about being late. I figured since there is another victim with no identity that Catherine could tell us who this person is or give us an idea of who to talk to."

The team looked to Catherine. She looked noticeably tired but it was more of a weary nervousness than true sleepiness. She was rather alert.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Rossi asked Catherine.

Catherine looked to Rossi with a flash of her hidden dominant personality. "I survived another night and now someone hasn't. If it's someone I knew…then someone should feel something more like a family would. At the moment…that person is me."

Hotch nodded as if his mind had been made up.

"Morgan and Reid, you can take Catherine with you to see if she can identify the body."

Morgan nodded. "You got it." He turned to Reid and smirked. "Come on, kid. I'll drive."

Catherine followed quietly behind them.

Sometime later, the trio walked into the M.E.'s office.

A young woman looked up from the paperwork on her desk to see who had entered. Her fiery red hair was pulled back from her face in a slick ponytail showing a face that carried a mass of freckles, intelligent brown eyes, and smile lines.

She rose from her chair and walked over with her hand extended. "You must be the ones I was told to expect. I'm Sarah Aiken, local M.E." She said with a smile.

Morgan took her hand and shook it. "I'm SSA Morgan and this is Doctor Reid."

Reid gave a little wave from just off to the side of Morgan.

Catherine came up to stand next to Reid.

Sarah looked to Catherine. "Another of your agents?" She asked as she looked back to Morgan.

"Actually, this is Catherine Harmon. She's here to indentify the body," Morgan replied.

"Family?"

Catherine answered this time. "More or less."

Sarah frowned at that.

"Well, you might want to brace yourself for this then…" Sarah said as she lead the group over to the body shaped sheet on the metal gurney.

Catherine slowly stepped up to the other side with Reid right behind her. Morgan was watching from behind Sarah.

"Ready?" Sarah asked.

Catherine took a breath and nodded. "Yes."

Sarah carefully drew back the sheet to reveal a young woman. Her raven hair was dirty but brushed out straight. Her eyes were closed and death had made her pale which made the various bruises stand out on her face all the more prominent.

Catherine's eyes went wide and she stumbled back cursing under her breath. She was breathing heavily as she turned her back to the body on the gurney.

Sarah covered up the body as Reid quickly moved in front of Catherine and took her shoulders gently. He knelt to look better at her.

"Are you okay? Do you need to get some air?" He asked.

Catherine shook her head maybe a little too quickly. She took a long shuddering breath.

"I know who that is. And…she was like family. She was one of my best friends out there. Her name is…was Cassandra Duncan," Catherine managed to reply.

Reid looked at her a moment before awkwardly hugging her and looking over to Morgan.

Morgan nodded and looked to Sarah.

"This doesn't look the same as our other victims. Do you know what made the bruises?" He asked.

"Well, the cause of death was the same as your other victims but the bruises came from the rocks that had been laid on top of her body shortly after she died," Sarah replied.

Catherine stiffened as she heard them talking. She slowly started to turn towards them as Reid would let her.

"Rocks?" She asked.

Sarah looked over to Catherine. "Yes, she was found under a few rocks that were placed on her and near her but she wasn't struck with any of them."

Morgan looked to Catherine. "Does that mean something to you?"

Catherine looked to Morgan. "I don't know what this means for your case but I studied enough religion to know my Bible scriptures. In the Old Testament…it was common practice to stone prostitutes. And…that's what Cassandra was." She took a slow calming breath. "I want to get out of here Reid. I need to be out there."

Reid frowned at that but looked at Morgan. "I'll be right back."

Morgan nodded looking at her in a measuring sort of manner as Reid almost protectively led Catherine out of the M.E.'s office.

Slowly, Reid pulled up to a section of sidewalk that Catherine had told him to stop at.

"You sure you want to do this?" he asked her for the fifth time.

Catherine nodded as she looked to him. "I need to. That's the only way I can know what's going on out here. I can get you more help being out here than in hiding. I know you don't like it Reid but I need to do this."

Reid sighed. "Do you still have my card?"

She produced the card from her pocket.

"I will see you before this is over with an answer. I just need some time to think." She slid the card back in her pocket.

"I'll hold you to that."

Catherine smirked. "You were wrong about one thing, Reid."

"What was that?"

"You do have strength. Just not the visible kind."

That made Reid smile.

"See you later, kid." Catherine hopped out of the black SUV and closed the door behind her. She turned and waved to him before heading down into the alleyway.

Reid watched her for a moment before carefully pulling away from the curb.

Catherine glanced back to make sure he wasn't still watching her. She shook her head a moment before she came to a corner in the alleyway.

As she was about to walk by, a pair of arms shot out of the darkness. One wrapped around her body pinning her arms to her sides and the second clamped a rag to her mouth before she had a chance to scream. She fought as the unknown assailant pulled her back out of sight.

As she slowly went under she heard a male voice whisper in her ear.

"Never fear, you are my angel. You have been sent to me."

Then, the world went black.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Reid pulled back up outside the M.E.'s office where Morgan was waiting for him. They changed places so Morgan could drive them back to the police station.

Immediately, Morgan noted the tension to Reid's silence as they drove.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Morgan asked.

Reid startled a moment as he looked over to Morgan. His thoughts having been elsewhere.

"It's nothing," Reid tried to lie.

"Come on Reid. I know you well enough to know something's up. Is it Catherine?"

Reid sighed. "Yeah."

"You're doing the best you can for her. She's a grown woman. The only way to protect her is to catch this guy. I know you want to do more than that because she's a friend. But you can't let it eat at you like this. All your focus needs to be on the case. So maybe it's for the best that she's not around for a while."

"Maybe," Reid started as he looked out the window. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Do you think it'd be wrong to ask if she wanted to come back with me after this is all over?"

"What are you talking about?"

Reid looked over to him. "I mean, help her get on her feet. Try and give her a fresh start somewhere where she doesn't have her past history holding her down. "

"You're serious about this aren't you?"

Reid nodded.

Morgan looked back to the road as he spoke. "Look, I know if it were me, I might be thinking the same thing. But she may not see it the same way. I can see enough in her to know that becoming homeless hasn't made her less of an independent creature. It probably increased that desire in her. Even if you offered, she might not accept simply because she doesn't want to take a hand out. This is all up to you, kid. I don't envy you here."

Reid went silent for a moment as his gaze drifted out the window again.

"I all ready asked her."

"Really? What did she say?"

"Said she'd think about it."

Morgan laughed. "Okay, I know you're smart but how'd you pull that one off?"

"Remember how I told you we went to college together?"

"Yeah?"

"I told her I wanted to do the same thing for her now that she did for me then. Take care of her."

"What do you mean?"

"When I started college, I was only twelve years old. I wasn't exactly able to blend into the crowd and my being too smart didn't make me anymore likeable. One day, I was stopped by six jocks, all six feet and above that were trying to hassle me. It felt like high school all over again. That's when I met Catherine. She intervened and made them back off despite being only five foot even back then. From then on, we stuck together. She was the only real friend I had. She never discounted me because I was intelligent or too young. She was the big sister I never had growing up. Now that I'm in the position I am…I want to repay her for that kindness."

"Sounds like a nice girl. But, like I said before, you've done all you can for her. You gave her the option. Now it's up to her."

Morgan and Reid arrived back at the police station to find that the rest of the team was all ready meeting together in the conference room. They headed in to give their report.

Hotch looked over as they entered.

"Just in time." He turned his attention back to his phone that was set to speaker. "We're all here now Garcia."

"Yes sir. I turned all my prowess onto locating any buildings or the like owned by Samuel Humphrees or one of his parents and came up with nothing. More than likely he was smart enough to use a false name of some kind to prevent detection. If not he's squatting a place that's so far out of the way that not even the police would think twice about it.

But what I can tell you for certain sir is that in the past he has definitely had some issues with other people."

"What did you find?" Hotch asked.

"Before he dropped off the map, he was the head of many of a religious rally against the sinners of the world. This group advocated any means necessary to deal with the very people they saw to be the devils in society and leading good men and woman astray."

"Thanks Garcia. Keep digging."

"You know me sir. I won't give up till there's no where else to go." With that Penelope ended the call.

Hotch looked up to Reid and Morgan.

"What did you both learn at the morgue?"

Morgan looked to Reid.

"Catherine recognized the young woman. Apparently, they were very close. She identified her as Cassandra Aiken. The kill fits with our victim profile. Thanks to Catherine that is… We thought it might not be connected because she was covered in various bruises. The M.E. said she had been found under some rocks at the crime scene. According to the Old Testament, it was common practice to stone prostitutes. Catherine confirmed that it was Cassandra's…profession," Reid replied giving what he knew and what Catherine had told him.

"The cause of death was just the same as the rest of our victims and being homeless and being killed in a manner mentioned in scripture proves that," Morgan said before adding one last bit. "But this time there was something we saw on the body. We knew he had to be disabling them somehow and without a fight. There were two marks on the side of her neck. After looking back at all of the other victims we found that all of them had these same two marks. They were made by a stun gun that would be pressed to the side of their necks."

"That would mean he is able to get close enough to them to use it. He has gained their trust enough to maybe even put his arm around them," Rossi stated.

"That proves our theory that he is using some kind of guise to get up close to them. Something that they would trust enough to get close to but also something easy enough to hide a stun gun in," Hotch determined. "The crime scene where the victim was found was in the same general area that all the others were found. Despite the heightened police presence it hasn't scared him away yet. He must have a way in and out that gives him this confidence to move around without being seen."

Catherine softly groaned as she started to come to. Her head felt like it was spinning. It made her blink a few times before she thought she could sit up.

Carefully, she sat up and looked around to see where she was. She noticed she was sitting on a bed in a back room of some kind of warehouse. There was a light hanging overhead but nothing else in the room. A metal door was on the far side of the room from her.

She was about to try and stand up when the door opened. In the doorway looked to be a Methodist preacher in full attire. This confused her and it showed on her face as she fought not to be afraid of him.

The man walked forward with a gentle smile on his lips.

"I am very much pleased you are not afraid of me. Only confused as to why you are here. To that end I can be of service," he said very kindly. "My name is Samuel Humphrees. Might I know the name of my Angel?"

Catherine blinked in confusion. "I'm Catherine."

He smiled. "Catherine, a beautiful name. Dear Catherine, I have been waiting long for you. To explain, I was promised in a dream from God that he would send me an Angel to assist me in my glorious duty here on this earth."

"And what mission is that Samuel…may I call you Samuel?" She worked at keeping her voice calm since it seemed that he wasn't going to kill her.

Samuel smiled brightly. "Yes you may. It is best to speak to each other by our Christian names. And my mission is to purify those souls who have been tainted by sin. To make them worthy in our Father's eyes to go to Heaven."

"And…as your Angel…I am sent here to guide you, correct?"

"Oh yes, you remember now. I am very pleased that God has thus blessed me with such a helper. It has been so very hard on my own."

She took a slow breath as she slowly rose to her feet. "I can imagine the strain it must have been on your body and soul to undertake such a task."

"But with you here to help me bear this burden, God's will shall be done."

Catherine nodded as she planned her next words very carefully. "But of course, Samuel. As your guide, having been sent by God, I have been given names of such people that God wishes to redeem through your works."

"Oh guide me sweet Angel."

Catherine fought to keep her face calm despite the panic that was welling up inside her. If this all went wrong, then she knew she would be next.

As the sun began to set on the horizon, Catherine rode in the passenger seat of the white bakery van that Samuel was driving. She had been directing him upon the proper roads to take.

In her mind, Catherine knew what she had to do. Reid's card felt like a weight in her pocket now. Before they had left she had snuck a chance to write down the location of the warehouse. If everything worked, she would pass it to the person they were going to see and they would get it to Reid.

They neared their last corner as he slowly stopped the van.

Catherine took a slow breath and looked to Samuel.

"Now Samuel. The young woman who resides here will be more skiddish than the others. Let me approach her and gain her attention and trust. Once I have done so, I will reveal you to her and keep her calm. When you are close enough that is when you can take action. But do not come till I have called you or all will be lost. Understand?"

Samuel looked over to her. "I understand."

They slowly got out of the van and quietly closed the doors.

Catherine moved up to the corner and placed her hands in her pockets as she took a calming breath. Casually, she walked around the corner as she had done so many times before when she was in the area.

Halfway down the alley a young woman was sitting back against the wall. Her brown hair was short but scraggly since she had cut it on her own. Her clothes were dirtier than most.

But Catherine picked her for a reason; she knew this girl had never committed a sin as Samuel saw it. She worked just as hard as Catherine did to be useful. That's why Catherine picked her. She would be able to run fast and without questioning why.

The young woman looked up from her spot on the ground as Catherine drew closer. She smiled to her.

"Well, hey there stranger. I missed you the other night," the woman said.

"Sorry about that Candace. Something came up," Catherine said as she drew the card smoothly out of her right hand pocket and reached out to shake Candace's hand.

Candace frowned a bit but it quickly faded as she shook hands with Catherine. With the ease of practice, she slid the card into her own palm and then into her pocket.

"What's going on?" Candace asked.

Catherine turned slightly so Samuel wouldn't see her lips. "The card is for you to give to Special Agent Spencer Reid. He is at the police station investigating the murders of the homeless in the area. Now, listen close. The man who's been killing them, he took me last night but he thinks I was sent here to help him. On the back is the address he took me to. I brought him here thinking you were one that he needs to _help_. I'm going to motion him over in a second. When he gets close, he will try to tazer you. I will stop him and you make a break for the police station. He will take me because I turned on him. It will take thirty minutes to get back to his warehouse. You have that long to get to the station and send help. If you understand nod and smile happily."

Candace nodded and smiled happily as she was told to.

"Good, I'm going to call him over now." Catherine slowly turned to look back down the alleyway. "Oh Brother Samuel. Would you come meet this dear child please?"

Samuel slowly walked down the alleyway looking calm and collected. He drew near to them and began to talk.

"So this is the child of God you mentioned to me. She will be a wonderful servant of our Lord if she has accepted Him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

Candace played along. "Oh, but I do. God is Savior to all those who serve him."

Samuel's smile only increased as he neared Candace to place his arm around her.

"That is wonderful my child."

As he drew the tazer near Candace's neck, Catherine quickly elbowed him in the stomach and Candace bolted.

She tried to fight him to keep his busy long enough that he wouldn't give chase. However, the fight quickly ended as he applied the tazer to her neck. Catherine seized up as the jolt went through her and then she fell to the ground.

Samuel frowned down at her.

"My Angel has turned on me."

At the police station, they were sorting through all the files trying to locate all the possible places that Samuel could take his victims to and get them back in the amount of time he had available.

"This is like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are so many possibilities that give him the privacy and speed he needs to pull this off," Morgan said with a sense of frustration.

"This is all we have to work on for now unless Garcia can find something to help us narrow this down," Hotch said staying ever vigilant to his work.

However, all of this was interrupted by a commotion being caused in the front of the police station.

Hotch led the way out of the conference room as the team filed in behind him to see what was going on.

They saw a young woman with short brown hair practically yelling at the officers.

"No! You listen to me! This is urgent! I need to see Spencer Reid NOW!"

The team approached the commotion but Hotch took the lead.

"Excuse me, what's going on here?" He asked.

Everything went quiet as the two officers and woman who looked to be homeless looked over to him.

One of the officers took charge and filled Hotch in. "This woman comes in here lookin' like that yelling that she needs to come see one of your people but won't say why. Can't just let her in without knowing the why."

The lady looked to Hotch and then to the people behind him. But she addressed Hotch.

"Sir, I have important information and I was told to come directly to Special Agent Spencer Reid as fast as I could and now I'm being held up."

Reid stepped forward. "I'm Spencer Reid. Who are you?"

She looked him over a moment. "I'm Candace, a friend of Catherine's." She quickly pulled the card out of her pocket and held it out to him. "She told me to get this to you urgently. Said she was in trouble and that the address was on the back."

Reid frowned as he took the card. He saw it was his own but he flipped it to the back and saw a hastily scribbled address. With a questioning look, he looked back to Candace.

"Did she say what kind of trouble?"

"Catherine said that it was about the guy killing homeless people. He took her last night but didn't kill her because he thought she was sent here to help him. She brought that message to me knowing I could get away. He tried to take me but she fought him and now he has her. Said it'd take thirty minutes drive to take her back to that address and that's how long I had to get here and get help," Candace finished now obviously out of breath from the running and the long explanation.

"Oh my God," Reid said as he looked to Hotch.

Hotch turned to the police officer. "Tell your Chief that we need to mobilize right now. Every body we can get to that address. Tell him it's a hostage situation."

The officers ran off to spread the word and soon the whole station was buzzing. As Hotch and his team suited up and rushed out the door with the other officers following suit.

Catherine groaned as she slowly started to come to. She tried to move and felt that her hands were tied to the bed posts above her. Slowly, she looked around her and felt a presence above her.

As her vision cleared fully, she saw it was Samuel. She took a slow breath knowing what was coming but she had to get loose and give time for the police to arrive. Just a little time.

He looked down to her obviously upset.

"Why my Angel? Why would you do this? You were sent by God for a higher purpose and you shun me."

"A moment of weakness. An Angel in a human form is prey to the same weaknesses as in Heaven there are never such misgivings," she said trying to talk her way out of this.

"A sign of weakness. Weakness must never be allowed in God's work. I am very sorry that you must fall prey to the same judgment as the rest of them."

"Samuel, before you do what you have been called, would you allow me one last grace?"

"What do you ask of me?"

"That you allow me to pray for my soul so that in the halls of Heaven I might be given more courage and wisdom to accept my purpose. I will even let you bind my hands in the motion of prayer so that I may better pray to the Lord."

Samuel hesitated for a moment as he looked down at her.

"You are the first to ask for such a penance. For that, I will grant you this last goodly thing. We shall pray together."

Samuel reached over and unbound her hands but tied them back in front of her.

Slowly, Catherine sat up and nodded to him. "Thank you Samuel." She moved to kneel down onto the ground and watched as Samuel slowly followed her.

"Let us pray," Samuel began as he closed his eyes.

Catherine watched him close his eyes through her nearly closed ones. Quietly, she shifted her weight to bring one leg up as he began to pray over her.

She waited till he got deep into his prayer before she opened her eyes, swung her bound hands out and smashed them as hard as she could across his face. As he fell to the ground, Catherine rose up and ran ducking farther into the warehouse full of discarded materials. Despite hearing the pounding of his footsteps chasing after her, she never looked back and ran as fast as she could as she looked for any place to hide herself.

As she ducked around a corner she came across row after row of boxes. She slipped into a gap between two of them ducked down between the box and the wall and worked at keeping quiet.

The team was racing towards the address they were given with the sirens blaring and the light flashing.

Hotch was grilling Reid about Catherine.

"You know her better than any of us, Reid. Once alone with him what do you think she would do?"

Reid was hanging onto the door handle for dear life as they rounded a corner.

"She was always really level headed. If she can talk her way out of something she will but if she knows it's not possible then she will try to give him a hard enough blow so she can run. Knowing her, she won't try and flee the building. She knows we're coming. More than likely, she'll try to hide in the warehouse and keep him there till we arrive," Reid responded trying to keep calm at these high speeds.

"Hopefully, her plan will work. If this guy breaks down completely there's no telling what he will do."

Catherine waited as she heard soft and slow footsteps moving down through the aisles. She covered her mouth to hide her quickened breathing. However, she jumped a bit as he spoke up. The sound echoing through the warehouse.

"You are a false Angel. You are a liar and deceiver. You are a helper of Satan. Come out now and be purified before the Lord," Samuel said calmly though there was anger in his voice.

She fought the urge to look for him knowing she could be spotted for looking out at the wrong time.

Samuel yelled as he started kicking at nearby boxes. The sound startled her but forced her body to remain still instead of running.

"Looks as though you will still deceive. Why not give yourself to the Light? There will be no pain. Only your ascension into Heaven."

His voice was just on the other side of the box from where she was hiding. Her legs were beginning to cramp from crouching but she remained where she was.

Then, her eyes caught a hint of light that wasn't from the warehouse's dim lights. She froze for a moment and listened. There came the sounds of the police sirens drawing up to the building. The shouting was faint. Help had finally come.

She listened to see what she could hear of Samuel. He had stopped just behind her. She could feel it. Then, he started to talk to himself.

"No...no they must not interrupt. They can not be allowed to stop my mission," he said as he started to move away.

Catherine knew that if he got away that he would do this somewhere else. Despite the overwhelming common sense in staying put, she knew that she had to do something. For a few tense moments, she listened to his footsteps move away from her.

Slowly, she eased out of her hiding spot and looked to his retreating form. Quietly, she followed after him crouching low. She visualized what she had to do and rushed at him. Catherine shouted some nonsense as she leapt up and draped her bound hands over his head and tried to let her weight jerk back against his neck.

However, it worked a little too well. They both fell back and Samuel landed on top of her. She fought to hold onto him but he was too strong for her to hold still.

He managed to turn in her grasp to face her as he straddled her body. Roughly he grabbed her arms and shoved them off of him and forced them above her head. With his strength, he was able to do this left handed even with her struggles. His right hand came down and clamped down hard on her throat as he began to squeeze with all the force he could muster. The anger in him fueled his actions.

Catherine fought to try and wiggle out of his grasp but he was able to get a much better hold on her than she was on him.

Hotch burst through a door with his gun trained on the wide opening. He carefully but quickly moved inside. Rossi moved in right behind him. They slowly began working their way along through the warehouse with police officers at their backs.

In another part of the warehouse, Reid, Morgan and J.J. made their way in and quickly began to search. They heard sounds coming from a room just ahead of them. Carefully, they made their way over to the wide doorway and put their backs to the wall. The sound of a struggle was echoing out of the next room.

Morgan nodded to the officers on the other side of the doorway. He whirled into the doorway with his gun trained ahead of him moving smoothly inside.

Reid and J.J. flanked him with their guns pointed to the ground on either side as they worked their way into the room and then down the first aisle. Down at the far end they saw a man on the ground kneeling over something. Morgan raised his light and rested it across his gun arm as he flashed it down the aisle onto the man.

"Samuel Humphrees! Put your hands up in the air!" Morgan shouted his command.

At first he didn't move from whatever he was doing. But as they drew closer it was apparent there was a pair of legs sticking out from underneath him.

Morgan stopped a few feet from him. His gun pointed steadily at the man.

"Samuel Humphrees! FBI! Raise your hands right now. Last warning," Morgan commanded.

The man whirled around and they saw the man known as Samuel dressed in the robes of a priest. He rose and turned towards them.

"No! You can not stop the will of God! No one can!" He shouted as he moved towards them.

"Freeze!" Morgan warned him.

Samuel didn't stop but kept moving towards him.

"You will all be judged for your sins! No one can escape judgment."

Morgan had no choice but to fire two shots into his chest to stop him. Samuel fell back as the bullets hit him. They moved up quickly and checked his vitals and found he was dead.

Reid lowered his gun and hurried over to the other body lying on the ground and found it was Catherine. He holstered his gun and checked her vitals on her neck and found a weak one but he could tell she wasn't breathing.

"Guys! I need some help over here. She's not breathing." Reid moved to kneel next to her head.

Morgan had holstered his gun and knelt near him. "What do you need me to do?"

"I want you to do the compressions on her chest and I'll make sure the air can travel down to her lungs."

J.J. called the rest of the team to their location reporting that Samuel was dead but they needed an ambulance.

When the rest of the team arrived, they found Reid and Morgan performing CPR on Catherine. The rope that had bound her hands was lying off to the side where it had been tossed after Morgan cut it off her.

Hotch looked to J.J. "What happened?"

"When we came up on Samuel he had pinned her down and was choking her. We aren't sure how long she's been out," J.J. reported.

"The ambulance is on its way." Hotch said for the benefit of Reid and Morgan.

Morgan performed a series of compressions and Reid blew a strong breath of air down her throat. Just as Morgan was starting his next set, Catherine's body convulsed as she gasped a huge gulp of air. She began to cough violently as Reid held her up to help her breathe.

"It's all right, Catherine. You're safe now," Reid said soothingly.

"Reid…" she managed to say weakly as she wheezed.

"I'm here. It's okay."

A few hours later, Catherine woke up and found herself in a hospital bed. She vaguely remembered arriving and being put to sleep with drugs.

Slowly, she looked over and found Reid sitting in a chair next to her bed.

Reid looked over to her and smiled. "Hey there."

Catherine softly smiled. "Hey, I see you got my message." She tried to joke.

"You had me worried Catherine."

"I'm sorry Reid. But I couldn't let him take anyone else but I couldn't let him get away either."

Reid sighed as he rose and came to stand next to her bed. "I know it was your only choice but it doesn't mean I have to like it."

Catherine smirked as she slowly reached up and took his hand. "I promise not to make you worry again."

"How can you promise that?"

"I decided to accept your offer. Instead of being scared or making up some excuse why I shouldn't go…I at least need to try. At least you'll help me have a chance."

Reid smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. Oh, someone came to see you. Just a moment." He let go of her hand and headed out to the hallway.

Catherine looked confused but slowly raised her bed up so she could see well.

Soon, Reid came back around the corner with Adam and Sauli in tow. She blinked in surprise as Reid came to stand on one side of the bed and the two other men stood on the other.

"Well, this isn't how I thought I'd see you again," Adam said with a smirk.

"You came to see me?" Her voice held all the confusion in the world.

Sauli smiled. "Adam has thought about nothing but wanting to thank you more for helping him out when you didn't have to."

"You could have just let him run off but you didn't I think that deserves a little more than twenty bucks," Adam added.

"I don't know. I'm sure what would be appropriate. I mean…all I did was get you your wallet back," Catherine replied.

Reid chuckled softly and looked across to the men.

"She doesn't just like to be given things. It's part of the way she is, she likes to feel like she earned it," Reid explained to them.

Adam looked back down to Catherine. "You've done more than just get my wallet back. You stopped a man from killing more innocent people. That deserves something."

Catherine thought for a moment and then something seemed to come to her.

"While I don't feel right about accepting something just for myself…I know something you can do that would make me just as content and help more than just myself," she replied with a smile.


	8. Epilogue

Epilogue

"Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us everyday." ~ Sally Koch

Rossi, Hotch, Morgan and Reid were watching on their jet watching an interview given by Adam Lambert announcing the beginning of his goal to raise money to support the local homeless shelters and soup kitchens so they could better serve the community and help the homeless get back on their feet.

"Seems like he's got the ball rolling on something good there," Rossi said.

"He was more than happy to help considering Catherine didn't think it was right to just make this about her," Reid said as he looked across to where Catherine was curled up asleep on the small padded bench.

"I'll have to admit, she really has some guts taking Samuel on like she did," Rossi offered by the way of a compliment.

"But now she just might get the chance she needs to recover from all of this and see if she can pull her life back together," Morgan added with a faint smile as he looked to Reid.

"You're taking on something really big here Reid. Is she aware of the situation?" Hotch had to ask.

Reid nodded. "I explained everything to her. Sometimes I will be around and others I won't be around for days. She's all right with that. You should have seen by now that she is a pretty independent creature. I don't think it'll bother her at all really." He smirked.

"But you know for a while she might have some issues to get over," Rossi tried to warn him.

Reid gave a tight lipped smile as he looked to Rossi.

"I know. But I figure, if and when it happens…who better to talk her through it than someone who has been there before?" Reid replied easily reminding them all of his former capture.

"This might drag up all that old pain for you Reid," Rossi pointed out.

Reid sighed and nodded as he looked back to Catherine. "Then we can go through it together."


End file.
